The Muppets: The Holly-Weirdos
The Muppets: The Holly-Weirdos is the first in a series of live-action/CGI movies starring Jim Henson's Muppets. Today, the movie is best remembered for sending nearly 300 Muppet fans to mental institutions due to nervous breakdowns in response to the film's terrible content. The Holly-Weirdos stars Seth Green, and the voices of David Spade, Sofia Vergara, Kevin Hart, John Leguiziamo, Seth Rogen, Carlos Mencia, and John Cena. 'Plot' Benjamin "Ben" Wilson (Seth Green) is a lazy, good-for-nothing movie studio gofer on a camping trip with his nephew, Walter (child actor Zane Michael Christopher Lawson III). While busy smoking a cigarette in the middle of a swampy area, Ben comes upon Kermit (David Spade), a rapping frog with star potential - at least in Ben's eyes. Walter begs his uncle to keep Kermit as a pet. Seeing as a potential performer that he can exploit off of, Ben agrees. Kermit does as well, but not before inviting his friends Miss Piggy (Sofia Vergara), Fozzie Bear (Kevin Hart), Gonzo (John Leguiziamo), Rowlf the Dog (Seth Rogen), Pepe the King Prawn (Carlos Mencia), and Animal (John Cena). Ben quickly regrets his decision to adopt these CG abominations, as they all but destroy his Hollywood apartment. Animal screams in Ben's ear at random moments. Gonzo takes a giant dump on the Ben's floor. Kermit covers for his friend, assuring Ben that he merely dropped a raisin. Rowlf licks his pubic area in front of everyone, and personally names his gonads "Beethoven" and "Mozart." Walter's pet rat Rizzo (played by Lars the Rat, and voiced by Hank Azaria) walks in on Miss Piggy undressing, and runs into the bathroom to vomit. Ben eventually brings the Muppets to his boss, Lew-Lew Lord-Lord (Stephen Collins), in hopes of getting them a contract and making them - or rather, himself - stinking rich. Despite the Muppets' terrible audition - Fozzie tells offensive jokes, Miss Piggy belts out a lousy rendition of "La Cucaracha," Lord-Lord's secretary is spotted in a comprising position with Pepe, and Animal nearly destroys everyone's eardrums - the studio chief agrees to sign everyone up. Unbeknownst to Ben and the Muppets, Lord-Lord actually plans to sell them to a science lab as test subjects. The gang gets invited to a lavish Hollywood dinner party where they cause more the same chaos as before. Plus, Kermit gets intoxicated and performs "Rayn-bow Kinnection, Y'all!" While looking for used gum under a table, Gonzo overhears a drunken Ben telling an equally intoxicated Walter (!) that he just adopted the Muppets in hopes of exploiting their wealth. Later, an argument breaks loose between the Muppets and the humans, eventually leading to the former group leaving. In the middle of the night, Bunsen and Beaker (Drew Carrey and Carrot Top), two lab scientists in cahoots with Lord-Lord, kidnap the Muppets. Meanwhile, Walter slowly sobers up and realizes the mistake Ben made. He gives an inspirational speech to make his uncle realize that he really loves the Muppets - even though they're annoying and not house trained. Through one of his rat friends living on the streets, Rizzo hears of the Muppets' Muppet-napping, and informs Ben and Walter. The three rush off and save their CG pals just in the nick of time. Lord-Lord, Bunsen, and Beaker are hurriedly arrested, Ben officially adopts the Muppets, and everyone dances to a Smash Mouth song. 'Production' Having run out of ideas for Muppet projects, the Walt Disney Company decided to temporary the loan the franchise out to Sony Pictures, in hopes that the Muppets' popularity would skyrocket again by the time the deal was finished. With much of the same crew from projects such as the "Smurfs" and "Chipmunks" movies writing the script, production officially began in December 2016. The CG Muppets were developed by Sony Animation. Reportedly, the celebrities voicing the Muppets opted to carefully study the original Muppet performers, in order to get a strong feel of the characters. However, producers told the cast to play themselves. Seth Green agreed to play the lead role after being told that Sony would help finance another season of Robot Chicken. It wasn't until after production that the cast and crew learned Lars the Rat was carrying the Plague. Half of the production team died within months. Seth Green is visibly uncomfortable in the scenes that they share. David Spade improvised most of Kermit's rap numbers. Zane Michael Christopher Lawson III was only five-years-old at the time of production, and had a difficult time saying his lines realistically. "Surprisingly, he played the drunk scene quite well," said one critic. Plans were to have Kevin Hart and Carlos Mencia record their scenes together, but Hart refused, accusing Mencia of stealing his stand-up material. John Cena's loud dialogue delivery caused his mic to break. A replacement had to be installed at least once every other hour. Cameo: Muppet performer Dave Goelz (Gonzo) as a park ranger early on in the film. To this day, Goelz denies having had anything to do with this project. Cameo: Statler and Waldorf, played by Jerry Lewis and the ghost of Mickey Rooney. Combined, the two actors' egos were so big that an innocent grip self-destructed while being yelled at. Deleted scene: The gang stops by a Waffle House and meet the owner, Clifford (voiced by Eddie Murphy). 'Cast' *Seth Green as Benjamin "Ben" Wilson, our so-called hero *David Spade as Kermit the Frog, a self-described "gangsta green, yo" *Sofia Vergara as Miss Piggy, Kermit's "babe," and the victim of cheap fat jokes *Kevin Hart as Fozzie Bear, a comedian who loves to relate personal life stories in an unfunny manner *John Leguiziamo as Gonzo, a self-declared "Great One" with bowel problems *Seth Rogen as Rowlf the Dog; he licks his testicles *Carlos Mencia as Pepe the King Prawn, a woman-chaser with a criminal record *John Cena as Animal, the loud one. To prepare for his role, Cena ate nothing but a drum set for weeks. *Zane Michael Cristopher Lawson III as Walter, the precocious kid, played by an insufferable kid *Stephen Collins as Lew-Lew Lord-Lord, a villain with a dumb name *Drew Carrey as Dr. Bunsen Honeydew *Carrot Top as Beaker *Jerry Lewis as Statler *Mickey Rooney's Ghost as Waldorf *Eddie Murphy as Clifford (scenes deleted) *Dave Goelz as the Park Ranger (Note from Dave Goelz: "I wasn't in this movie. Please refrain from attaching my name to it.") 'Reception' Critics and audiences alike gave the movie terrible reviews. Longtime critics Statler and Waldorf were left speechless after a private screening. Though this may have been because they fell asleep after the opening credits. And yet, according to Sony, at least two sequels and a spin-off series are still in the works. Category:Movies Category:Muppet Movies Category:Sony Movies Category:CGI Movies